ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK
Souvenir UMC / VIRGIN 7/10
Mammoth retrospective boxset from the Wirral Kraftwerk
Following the 40thanniversary vinyl reissues of their first four albums, Andy Mccluskey and Paul Humphreys now clean out their archive with this monster boxset of greatest hits, unreleased rarities and live tracks collected across five audio discs plus two DVDS. The Merseyside duo’s career-spanning singles chronology plots a swooping quality arc from sublime late 1970s synth-pop romanticism to anodyne chart plodders and back again, knowingly reviving their shimmering post-punk analogue sound in recent years with elegantly retro-styled tracks including “The Punishment Of Luxury” and the sole new composition here, “Don’t Go”. For completist fans and vintage electro geeks, the 22 tracks of previously unreleased material will hold the most allure. Mostly dating from the early 1980s, many are untitled fragments and sketchy studio equipment test pieces. But there are also some lovely full songs, notably the wistful synth ballads “Weekend” and “Ambient 1”, plus atmospheric electro-glitch experiments like “Brand New Science”, “Organ Ditty” and “Radio Swiss International”. Not all buried treasure but there is strong, interesting stuff here. Of the two concert discs, the 1983 Hammersmith Odeon show is the most interesting, capturing the OMD soundsystem at a point where new-minted pop stardom had not yet dulled their fizzing, crackling, unashamedly arty edge.
Extras: 7/10. Unreleased material, live sets and more.